And the Wolverines boys basketballers own legitimate aspirations of contending for their first Class 5A championship.

The Parker school’s 65-62 decision over East on Saturday was of top quality and came with all of the necessary whistles and bells.

The Wolverines’ Josh Adams and Cory Calvert are a handful, a backcourt duo that brings plenty of athleticism, savvy, perimeter shooting, passing, moving without the ball and canning free throws.

And despite Rob Johnson opting for a smaller bench, the roster offers plenty of other candidates, notably a few who are willing to make plays, rebound or take shots at crunch time.

The Wolverines still have to deal with the rest of the Continental League, clearly Class 5A’s best group, but keep them in mind come state tournament time. And it’s nice to see that they have a hungry following.

A couple of key back-to-back dates: At Regis Jesuit, the three-time defending state champion, on Feb. 10, and home against Highlands Ranch on Feb. 14.

Neil Devlin, originally from the Philadelphia area, has covered high school sports in Colorado for more than 30 years, writing about the people, athletes and events that encompass the Rocky Mountain prep sports world.